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A. Not a problem? B. Big no no? C. Why can't you leave well enough alone? I don't currently have any problem with my 3 Carène, I'm thinking of using an ultrasonic cleaner with more troublesome pens that are hard to disassemble, or I just don't know how to like the Parker 105; but it would be nice to know if it would damage the Carène with its inlaid (and glued?) nib. Same question for Geha Goldschwinge, with the diference that they seem way more fragile than Carènes... But one of them would probably really benefit since even Rapido Eze can't get it to write with the right flow...

Hi, First time poster and I am in need of help and experience. Unfortunately my Waterman Carene Fountain Pen has suffered the same fate as Balenemate's pen. His link is here from June 13. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/247665-broken-carene-nib/ I've added pictures below: The crack is around the entire circumference of the Pen grip. I believe that the Fountain Pen lid itself is defective and must have some how damaged the pen Anyone with experience of this problem? Will Waterman replace the entire pen under warrant? Rather than attempt a repair? Thanks Tom

Adding a mate to my Carene Marine Amber, today I received the Carene L’Essence de Bleu. It has a lovely dark blue lacquer barrel with palladium plated cap with wave pattern, palladium trim, and Rhodium plated 18k gold nib. Out of the box, the fine nib wrote perfectly. I find it a sleek and elegant pen comfortable to hold and write with. I’m altogether pleased with it, as I have been with the Amber version. From Waterman’s website: https://www.waterman.com/pens/l’essence-du-bleu/carène-fountain-pen-lessence-du-bleu-gift-box/SP_2170968.html

Adding a mate to my Carene Marine Amber, today I received the Carene L’Essence de Bleu. It has a lovely dark blue lacquer barrel with palladium plated cap with wave pattern, palladium trim, and Rhodium plated 18k gold nib. Out of the box, the fine nib wrote perfectly. I find it a sleek and elegant pen comfortable to hold and write with. I’m altogether pleased with it, as I have been with the Amber version. From Waterman’s website: https://www.waterman.com/pens/l’essence-du-bleu/carène-fountain-pen-lessence-du-bleu-gift-box/SP_2170968.html

I have a waterman carene rollerball pen. I wonder if I can convert the Rollerball pen into a fountain pen. Think about how I was the messages before the search and modification. Are you sure that the Carene fountain pen cap fits the Carene roller ballpen cap? Wouldn't it be compatible if I put the carne fountain pen cap in the rollerball pen barrel and put a very small cartridge about 3.7cm sold by Waterman into the rollerball barrel?

Hello friends! 👋 So very recently I picked up a Waterman Carene medium nib, which is a gorgeous pen and for the most part I am pretty happy with it! However I have observed some strange behaviour from it when using on different paper types. From what I have seen, the Carene seems to have various reports / reviews of skipping or hard starting being an issue. I observed this when writing on some Clairfontaine paper in a notebook, the page started looking quite messy with missing parts of letters or me having to write over existing letters to fill them in. I then tried the exact same pen with the same ink(Edelstein Aventurine) not 5 minutes later on some Tomoe River paper in another notebook and I experienced not a single skip nor any hard start when writing for roughly the same amount of time. Is this something others have experienced and is it an actual problem with the pen or with the paper? Tomoe River and Clairfontaine is pretty good quality paper I am to understand, so I am curioius as to what others think. Does this pen need the touch of a nibmeister and if so, who could people recommend for such a service?

Does anyone know of a site that lists the difference Waterman Pen models and their years of production? I'm particularly interested in the pens since the 1980s such as the Phileas, Kultur, Laureat, Expert (I,II,III), Carene, Hemisphere, etc. I can't seem to find a good source for when the regular Phileas started and ended production versus when the Kultur started and ended production. Their are also others that are more rare like the Maestro and the Master that sometimes get confused with the Laureat. Thanks Jim Bunch

My favorite fountain pens are Waterman Carene (medium) and Sailor Pro Gear (broad). I find my Pineider Avatar (medium) and Estie (medium and broad) fountain pens to be pretty/beautiful but not exceptional writers. I enjoy the metal weight/solidity of the Carene and love the lines laid down by my two Watermans (both mediums) and my Sailors (Pro Gear and 1911). Are steel nibs by nature boring (will the Diplomat nib be the same Jowo as my Estie?) or will a Diplomat Excellence nib be both smooth and have character? Would a Diplomat Excellence (Evergreen with broad steel nib) be a good choice for me? Something else? I grew up with Parker but in recent years have expanded and would be grateful for guidance. I joined today because participants are so insightful and generous with their knowledge.

Ok, here we go....I am looking to purchase my first, and last, gold nib pen. The last pen that I will ever use. This pen will be my workhorse pen, as I will use it for journaling, I might even keep it in my pocket throughout the day. I'm looking to spend under or around $200. These are the pens that I would like to pick from: 1.) Waterman Carene 2.) Pilot Custom Heritage 91 3.) Karas Kustoms Ink (all copper) 4.) Pilot Namiki Falcon I would like to note that I'm NOT interested in any piston fillers, as I would prefer a pen that uses cartridges and converters. I enjoy carrying extra supplies and the rare instances in which I actually have to go to my Altoids can and grab my backup ink. I'm looking for a smooth nib, and I plan to write with a Fine or Fine-Medium nib. Here are a list of some of the pens that I currently own, that are decent writers to me: - Pilot Metro (Fine nib, Section is a little too thin) - Parker Urban 2016 model (current workhorse) (Medium nib) - Jinhao 911 - Jinhao 8802 (Pocket Carry) - Hero 901 - Parker Urban 2012 model (Medium Nib) (a little dry/resistant writer, but it feels nice in my hand) For some reason, I'm leaning mostly towards the Carene and the CH91. Has anyone had any issues out of the pens listed? Which one would be best for all-around heavy use? Thanks!

Hey all, the cap band separated from the cap on my Carene so the cap is no longer held in place. Customer service invited me to send it to France for repair, but in procrastinated and decided I can just glue it back into place. It would take quite a while for me to get the pen back and it is one of my favorites. I doubt I will ever sell it, so Im not too worried about ruining its value. I am worried about ruining its aesthetic. Will a drop of super glue handle this? 2 ton epoxy? Marine epoxy? What would you use? Thanks

Hi folks, I am thinking of buying myself a present (ok, I'll be honest - I mean that I wants a new Shiny Thing I does, oh yes!), and I would like some advice from you before I Succumb to the Temptation to blow what is actually rather lot of money for me. I am trying to choose between a current production (2019-2020) Parker Sonnet, and a Waterman Carène. I am (as long as the Mods are happy to let me) putting this thread in to both the Parker forum and the Waterman forum, so that I can get as many well-informed replies as possible. The Carène that I fancy the look of is (happily for me) the cheapest one available, and so it is ‘only’ the same price as a Sonnet with a gold nib. The retailer from whom I am thinking of buying my new toy sells both pens, and in every nib width too They also stock spare nibs, so I could buy any colour of Sonnet and also buy a gold nib to put in to it. Background I already own some Parker Frontiers, so I know that the size and shape of the Sonnet suits my hand (although I don't yet know about the weight). I also like that their nib units can be unscrewed if necessary, because I like to use Rohrer & Klingner's iron-gall inks „Salix” and „Scabiosa”. The ease of removing the Sonnet's nib & feed for cleaning reassures me that I would have less to fear in terms of the consequences of letting any ink dry out in a Sonnet. [i did once let some „Salix” dry-out in a Parker "51", and that was a massive PITA to put right. It took about six weeks! OK, so it has so far only happened on the one occasion, when my mother had to be rushed in to hopsital with acute neurological side-effects from a new heart medication, and was in there for a month. Happily, it hasn't happened since, but since then ease of cleaning is something that I do consider whenever I contemplate a new pen purchase.] Regardless of my penchant for ‘planning for failure’, I am concerned that I have seen many complaints about Sonnets drying-out whilst capped, and complaints of them ‘writing dry’. Neither of those things sounds like anything I want - especially as I like pens that ‘write wet’. So, have you found modern Sonnets to have a drying-out problem? Do you think that there is any point in my buying a Sonnet with a gold nib, or are the steel nibs just as good? Is the gold nib more ‘springy’ than the steel? Are both nibs ‘nails’? With respect to the Carène, I like the look of the beast, and have read many complimetary things about it on here. I have read the advice on how to avoid the problems that can occur when filling it, and how to adjust the rotation angle of the barrel so that the ‘stern’ end of the pen is oriented correctly when the barrel is screwed back on. I have not yet held an example of the pen, so intend to try one out so that I can check its girth, heft, and balance before I buy it. My potential worry with it would be its large and inaccessible feed - if I were to let an ink (but especially an iron-gall ink) dry out in that I expect that it would be a nightmare to clean out. Possibly even worse than the "51"! What are your thoughts, oh Fount of All Wisdom that is FPN? Which of these two pens would you advise me to buy? Do you think that the Carène is the better pen, and that I should buy the Carène and just leave the iron-gall inks for my Frontiers? Or that each pen is as good as the other? Or that the Sonnet is better, and that I should buy one with a gold-nib? Or that I ought to buy a steel-nibbed Sonnet & also some nice inks with the rest of the money? Are there any other ‘problems’ with either pen? Have you found either to have any ‘idiosyncrasies’ that have irked you? My thanks to you all in advance for your answers. Cheers, M.

Hey, Just ordered my first Waterman pen today. A Waterman Carène Essential Silver, I had my eye on one for a while now... and I saw it had been discontinued meanwhile/recently. So I quickly went to find one somewhere. I ordered one with a fine nib because I read the medium is quite broad. I ordered a bottle of Serenity Blue with it. Looking forward to writing with it.

I find myself in the unusual situation of having received an Amazon (US) gift card, which covers the cost of a Carène, about $165 with rhodium trim with a fine nib, but not pouncing on the opportunity. I seem to have reached the limit of inks I am happy with (about 22) and corresponding pens, so what three inks ago would have been a natural jump... Is no longer there . I do see the Carène as a grail pen but my main interest is seeing inks in their full glory, many of my pens seem to be so wet their inks come out very dark and boring, so I've had to resort to extreme measures which I would not attempt with this pen and its inlaid nib; all my inks do currently look really nice. So if you love your Carène what is it that would make it an obvious or strong choice? What I like from what I've read: Unique design.Comfortable.Smooth. What doesn't seem that nice: Any reliability issues? My le Man 100 has always worked well but a Laureat invariably burped all its ink onto the cap, so I'm not exactly a Waterman fan. Current pens: Cheap but decent: 4x Muji, 7 x Vista, 1 Metropolitan, 1 Penmanship, 1 Sport. Nice even if sometimes quirky: 2 x Sonnet, 2 (another on the way) x Studio, 1 Ambition, 1 Le Man 100, 1 Pro Gear, 1 m600, 2x m205. If you don't see the point of this post which is half in jest, "only you know", "I would never buy sight unseen", "get 165 Chinese pens", please refrain from souring everyone else's day .

Hi folks, I am thinking of buying myself a present (ok, I'll be honest - I mean that I wants a new Shiny Thing I does, oh yes!), and I would like some advice from you before I Succumb to the Temptation to blow what is actually rather lot of money for me. I am trying to choose between a current production (2019-2020) Parker Sonnet, and a Waterman Carène. I am (as long as the Mods are happy to let me) putting this thread in to both the Parker forum and the Waterman forum, so that I can get as many well-informed replies as possible. The Carène that I fancy the look of is (happily for me) the cheapest one available, and so it is ‘only’ the same price as a Sonnet with a gold nib. The retailer from whom I am thinking of buying my new toy sells both pens, and in every nib width too They also stock spare nibs, so I could buy any colour of Sonnet and also buy a gold nib to put in to it. Background I already own some Parker Frontiers, so I know that the size and shape of the Sonnet suits my hand (although I don't yet know about the weight). I also like that their nib units can be unscrewed if necessary, because I like to use Rohrer & Klingner's iron-gall inks „Salix” and „Scabiosa”. The ease of removing the Sonnet's nib & feed for cleaning reassures me that I would have less to fear in terms of the consequences of letting any ink dry out in a Sonnet. [i did once let some „Salix” dry-out in a Parker "51", and that was a massive PITA to put right. It took about six weeks! OK, so it has so far only happened on the one occasion, when my mother had to be rushed in to hopsital with acute neurological side-effects from a new heart medication, and was in there for a month. Happily, it hasn't happened since, but since then ease of cleaning is something that I do consider whenever I contemplate a new pen purchase.] Regardless of my penchant for ‘planning for failure’, I am concerned that I have seen many complaints about Sonnets drying-out whilst capped, and complaints of them ‘writing dry’. Neither of those things sounds like anything I want - especially as I like pens that ‘write wet’. So, have you found modern Sonnets to have a drying-out problem? Do you think that there is any point in my buying a Sonnet with a gold nib, or are the steel nibs just as good? Is the gold nib more ‘springy’ than the steel? Are both nibs ‘nails’? With respect to the Carène, I like the look of the beast, and have read many complimetary things about it on here. I have read the advice on how to avoid the problems that can occur when filling it, and how to adjust the rotation angle of the barrel so that the ‘stern’ end of the pen is oriented correctly when the barrel is screwed back on. I have not yet held an example of the pen, so intend to try one out so that I can check its girth, heft, and balance before I buy it. My potential worry with it would be its large and inaccessible feed - if I were to let an ink (but especially an iron-gall ink) dry out in that I expect that it would be a nightmare to clean out. Possibly even worse than the "51"! What are your thoughts, oh Fount of All Wisdom that is FPN? Which of these two pens would you advise me to buy? Do you think that the Carène is the better pen, and that I should buy the Carène and just leave the iron-gall inks for my Frontiers? Or that each pen is as good as the other? Or that the Sonnet is better, and that I should buy one with a gold-nib? Or that I ought to buy a steel-nibbed Sonnet & also some nice inks with the rest of the money? Are there any other ‘problems’ with either pen? Have you found either to have any ‘idiosyncrasies’ that have irked you? My thanks to you all in advance for your answers. Cheers, M.

Hi, I have, regrettably, allowed what ought to be a simple and concise request to turn in to another of my trademarked Screeds I apologise to you all in advance. I have a request for your help, dear reader, in the form of information from those of you who are Carène owners. I am thinking of buying a Carène - both because it is a Thing of Beauty, and because I have read lots of praise of them on here from people who already own them. I already know that their nibs are stiff, and have read about the need to return a couple of drops of ink to the bottle when using a converter, and to NOT let my fingers wander down on to the edges of the inlaid nib. I have also read about how to adjust the interior brass collar so that the ‘stern end’ of the pen's barrel lines up at the correct rotational angle when screwing the barrel back on after re-filling. I also know about the pen's huge feed/ink collector, and that it is very hard to disassemble for cleaning, and so to never fill it with e.g. iron gall inks, or ‘high-maintenance’ inks, or inks with shimmer particles, or any remaining vintage supplies of the fast-drying ink that was developed for the original Parker "51" (some say that this ink was the inspiration for the blood of the ‘Alien’ in the Ridley Scott film...). I also know that the above intellectual knowledge isn't enough, and that I really ought to feel one in my hand to check its size, mass, weight, and balance before I ‘just buy one’, but... ...doing that would require me to travel Some Way in order to see one ‘in the flesh’. On England's overcrowded roads. To a city that I have never previously visited, let alone driven or parked in. On a weekend Now, even though I am willing (keen) to do so, doing it wouldn't tell me everything that I need to know before I place my order - because the only store that I can find anywhere near me that stocks the Carène ONLY has them with ‘Medium’ nibs. I.e. I won't be able to try out different nibs for width, wetness, smoothness, etc. (Additional info: Personally, I would feel bad if I were to go to the store just to try one in my hand, because the chain doesn't stock the pen in the finish that I want anyway. I suppose that I could ask whether they could order it, but knowing how Corporate chains tend to operate here, I would be surprised if the staff in any store (including the manager) is allowed the freedom to do so.) I do know that, should I decide that I don't like the width of the nib that I order, I can simply send it back to the vendor for replacement, but I would far rather 'get it right first time' if at all possible. So: I would be very grateful if some of you would post photos that show samples of your writing with Carènes of different nib widths. My own preference is for nibs that run fairly narrow, so I would like in particular to see samples written with Carènes with EF, F, or M nibs - but other potential future purchasers would presumably appreciate samples written with the B or Stub nibs, or with any of the obliques that can be had. Ideally, in order that I can evaluate the appearance of the writing accurately, I would like to remove as many of the variable factors as possible from the samples, so I would like to see pictures of writing samples made using some of the ‘commonly-owned’ inks & paper that I already own myself. So, I would like you to please post pictures of writing samples that conform to the following formats: I would like to see samples that have been written on one or more of the following types of paper: lined Rhodia paper (whether from No.13 pads, No. 18 pads, or Webnotebooks, or some other 90gsm Rhodia paper, but with the distance between ruled lines indicated), or, as I am in the UK;a sheet from a ‘WH Smith’ Wide-Ruled Refill Pad, or;‘Basildon Bond’ paper (but this would also need the poster to add in some pencil-ruled lines and indicate their separation).I have named those papers because I already have an idea of their particular tendencies to show things like shading, line-spread, feathering, bleedthrough, etc. Of course, it might prove to be useful for non-UK residents if some of you were to post samples written on papers that are commonly owned in other countries, but I freely admit to having a selfish desire to see samples written on those particular papers As for ink, please use: Waterman ‘Serenity Blue’ or ‘Havana Brown’, or;Parker Quink ‘Blue’ or even ‘Washable Blue’, or;Pelikan 4001 Black or Violet, or;Noodler's Black, or (if anyone has them);Pelikan Edlestein ‘Tanzanite’ or ‘Topaz’.Again, I am familiar with those inks, and they seem likely to be safe to put in to a Carène. I would also be grateful for any other advice culled from your experience of owning the pen - things such as: Do you find that a particular nib width tends to ‘write wet’ or ‘write dry’? Does ink tend to feather or show/bleed through from certain nib widths? Are there any inks that have given you problems in your Carène? Are there any inks that have made the experience of writing with the Carène especially delightful? Will posting the cap cause scratches on the lacquer of the barrel? My thanks in advance for your help. Cheers, M.

I bought an amber carene BP from a well known auction site. When it arrived today I went to put in a refill but the cap just keeps spinning without unscrewing. It is the version with the cap which turns 180 degrees to extend the ballpoint. Is there any way to repair this? Thanks for your time.

Post withdrawn. Thanks.

My coral orange Carene recently bought on you-know-where writes really nicely - once I can persuade it to take some ink on board. I'm immersing the nib fully and as far as I can tell the converter is a good fit - any other ideas please?

I need some help, identifying the age, color, and info on the cap name and any other info pictures attached

Hi everyone. I picked up this pen at a flea market today and I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify it. After searching around the interwebs, it looks like it's a Waterman Carene rollerball but the clip has an emblem on it. I'm not sure if this is some kind of corporate personalization or what? I don't even know if this is a legit Waterman. I don't own any others and don't have much experience with them. I've included a few pictures here. Sorry for the horrible photos. The pen body is blue with a black grip section.The cap is silver with a gold clip Thanks for any guidance!

Hi. In two weeks time I will be sitting seven exams where I will need to write some 5000 words in 2 1/2 hours. I want to buy the Waterman Carene, would you recommend the Fine or Medium? Currently, I've been using the Hemisphere (Fine) for the past four years but I found it scratchy and quite slow, my handwriting can get quite large when writing quickly which makes it a little tiring Thank you

Hi guys, I like the pens designs by Waterman and Iove the black lacquer GT combination. I visited the Waterman website to see the models - Hémisphère, Expert & Carène in this color. Even though black lacquer, the pens color looked different in the photographs (different blacks!). This is what the color description (not title) on each model read. They were also different with the exception of Expert and Carène Essential! Hémisphère Black Fountain Pen GT ...the black and gold duo in superior smooth lacquer... Expert Black Fountain Pen GT ...the deep black of its lacquer... Carène Black Sea Fountain Pen GT ... high-gloss black lacquer... Carène Essential Black and Gold Fountain Pen GT ...deep black lacquer... As you can see the pens finishes in all the photographs looks different even though all of them are black lacquer. A lot of you must have seen and used these pens. Are they any different or is it just the photographs? I need your help. As I unfortunately don't have access to a retail shop to go try out pens and get to know them first hand before purchasing them. Do black lacquer pens more easily attract micro scratches than the rest of the finishes even when handled with care? If so how can I care for these pens so that the finish lasts? Thank you in advance guys & gals for all your input! Hope your answers help a whole lot of newbies. Pete :")

I am considering to buy a Carène. Thus I wondered which cases I could use to carry it around. I would use this pen at home and probably in environments like a university. Which cases fit? Which cases do you think are good? Maybe: which cases match the design? I am looking forward for recommendations. I glanced at a simple case by Lamy ( http://www.lamyshop.com/lederwaren-lamy-a112.html ). Maybe some of you gained experience with this case?

Hi FPNers! Ink penetrated and form those blots below the metal surface. I can assure you I'm very careful using the pen and nothing exceptional happened. http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/mmmcosta/Watches/Carene_zpswik2vhyw.jpg Have this ever happened to your Carène? I look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Marcelo